The NCHA Horse Hall of Fame was established by the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) to recognize the accomplishments of outstanding cutting horses based on their lifetime earnings in NCHA approved championship cutting horse competition. Initially, when a horse had won $35,000 in NCHA Open Championship competition, a Gold certificate was issued to the owner of the horse, and a plaque in recognition of that achievement was mounted on a designated wall inside NCHA headquarters.[1] As purses and divisions grew over the years, the following amendments were made to the earnings requirement for a horse to qualify:
In addition to their Horse Hall of Fame, the NCHA established the following: NCHA Members Hall of Fame, Non-Pro Hall of Fame, NCHA Rider Hall of Fame, Youth Hall of Fame and Horse of the Year.[2]